Mount Stuart is one of the more stunning peaks within the Washington Cascades. On the North side it is near a vertical descent down to Mountaineers Creek while the south side it is covered in chutes that drop 4,200 feet to Ingalls Creek. Being early in the spring my friend Boot and I decided to head in for a run down the Cascadian Couloir. It was our hope that heading in late March we could potentially find powder snow. The plan would be a long single day push but if everything turned out right it would be a great day.

It was an early morning as we drove pass Snoqualmie Pass and on to the Teanaway River Road. Before long we were passing the 29 Pines Road and heading towards Mount Stuart via the west side. Soon enough we had made it to the Stafford Creek Road and were able to find a spot to park. After getting the sleds off the trailer we were waking up with our hands on the throttle at making our way towards the base of Longs Pass.

Heading up Longs Pass to Check Out Mount Stuart

Once at the bottom of the slopes we started skinning up towards Longs Pass. Above us was a high cloud deck and the winds were plastering our faces. Once arriving at the high col we had our first via of Mount Stuart and the Cascadian Couloir. From our vantage point we could see a cloud hovering on the summit and wondered if we were wasting our time. Looking at the south face we were happy to see that both Ulrich’s Couloir and the Cascadian Couloir were both filled in. Now the question was do we drop in and attempt Mount Stuart or turn back and get some sleep.

As we questioned what was the right call the sun came out and lit up the area below us. We could see that if we descided to descent it would be a powder run all the way to Ingall’s Creek. In the end we went for it riding all the way down to the base of the Cascadian Couloir. While the snow wasn’t deep it was fun and fast as we covered miles in minutes.

Climbing up the Cascadian Couloir on Mount Stuart

Making our way to the base of Mount Stuart we started climbing. Since it was decently steep I put on my boot crampons while Boot used his skiing crampons. A step at a time we made our way up the Cascadian Couloir as the winds picked up. Between the high and low clouds we knew we were on a race against time. A step at a time we pushed up until we were just below the false summit. The cloud deck was only feet above us as we found a flat spot to transition. Looking down into the valley we were excited about our run as it was in powder conditions.

Snowboarding the Cascadian Couloir

Before long we were making our way down the Cascadian Couloir a turn at a time. The upper slopes were perfect wind packed powder as each turn seemed bottomless. Knowing that the lower slopes were a bit firm we were concerned about how they would ride. Soon enough we were near the bottom only to find the sun had softened it up to corn perfection. Looking back up it was rewarding looking at two tracks coming down the 4,000 feet. It had been a great run on Mount Stuart via the Cascadian Couloir and know we just had a long exit.

At the base we ate and reveled in our 20 minute descent now behind us. It was time to get going over 1,500 feet and 3 miles back up to Longs Pass. As we made it to our last high point the clouds came in and the snow below us froze up. Dropping back down to the Teanaway we experienced horrible, breakable crust all the way to the sleds. Fortunately we had the memory of our powder run on Mount Stuart via the Cascadian Couloir.

Before long we were sledding back to the car and had arrived but there was one problem. My board was gone as I didn’t connect it to the sled good enough. Boot was on the hunt and within 20 minutes he returned with my board. It was a long 14 hour day of climbing over 8,000 feet but worth every minute of it.

Thank you for reading this trip report on the Cascadian Couloir on Mount Stuart. If you want to see more ski tours within the Snoqualmie Pass Backcountry check out this link.